The Sun. — London, England, 1838-02-14 00:00:00

hate felt it his duty to give that motion a negative. He con sidered the offence of which they had been speaking to be of grestsr enormity than almost any other of which a man could be guilty. It was the especial duty of the Government to take steps to prevent combinations from advancing to conspiracy. There was scarcely a crime that could be mentioned that did not result from combination. The evidence before them showed that it led to breaking into houses, to alarming people to a very great degree, and to actual murder. it was true the murder was not proved against the party charged with it, but too one could doubt its having taken place. -- (FL ar.) Then look at the enormous sum expended in three illegal Tursuits—not less than 11,000/. And how was it expended ? It appeared that while the influential workmen who struck gold maintain themselves, the inferior workmen had no means of supporting themselves while the struggle was proceeding. It was a fact that nothing could be more destructive to the Prosperity of the community at large than this combination. He denied that there was the least want of sympathy on the Part of the House for the distresses of the lower orders; on the contrary, they evinced the interest they felt in them by the very course !deer: in the debee. There was no tyranny so treat, so overbearing, or so relentlces in its murderous pur ls nes, as that which they were now considering.—(Cheers.) Mr. O'CONNELL said he, as well as the Learned Gen tleman who bad just sat down, had read the evidence with great attention, and felt that it gave them no right to im peach the conduct of either the bench, the jury, cr the pro secution. He thought bis Hon. Friend was right in not pressing his motion for a'mitigation of punishment. He did not see that there was any fiir ground stated for an inquiry into the Glasgow case in particular ; but if the system which had been so properly denounced prevailed more extensively—if combinations, not only illegal, but despotic and tyrannical, existed in any part of the empire, it was the duty of the House to give protection to the labourer, so as to enable him to dis- Pose of his labour freely. Ile believed that no laws could have been more unjust than the combination laws were before they had been repealed by Mr. Hume's Act. Two persons meeting together to raise to its highest price any commodity, if it were not for labour, might so combine; but the moment they met to raise the price of labour, they were considered to be guilty of ft crime in the eye of the law. It was true that employers might also be found guilty of a crime, but then it was almost im possible to detect them, and they were also protected by their wealth ; but the poor man was easily detected and punished. He hod felt it to be his duty, and he felt it to be a most painful one, to take an active part in this matter, and this at the risk of it great deal of his popularity.—( Cheers.) He had in doi ng so o f course been misrepresented ; and he availed him self of the opportunity of stating what his objects were. He was quite content with Mr. Hume's Act, and was extremely anxious that the labouring classes should have the full be nefit of it. It repealed an unjust law ; and he did not wish for any more law, certainly, than was to be found in Mr. Hume's Act.—(Laughter.) He called it Mr. Hume's Act._-( Hear, hear.) He did believe that whenever the country lost that Honourable Gentleman—and he conceived that whenever it did happen it would be a great loss—but that none more honourable inscription could be on his tomb than that he was the person that :brought in that Act of Parlia ment._(Hear, hear.) That at least was his belief. That Act stated what it was that was permitted tobe done in future. It allowed combination to every class of workmen. They could combine and agree together to obtain more wages th an they had before, or to prevent their wages from being lowered. It was fair for them to combine for such purposes. This they could do for themselves; but the moment they attempted to coerce others, the moment that they carried the effect of their combination to any other individuals, that instant crime commenced, and they were not only guilty of a crime in the eye of the law, but also of a moral crime, and they inflicted a robbery upon others.—( Hear, hear.) The Honourable Member for Finsbury seemed to think that the sentence which had been passed was contradictory to the Act of Parliament ; for baring read those particulars which Were not included within legal combination, the Honourable Member said that the punishment for any of those offences Was only three months' imprisonment. The Honourable Member had not read the Act with the eye of a lawyer. The crimes were made so punishable by a summary process by the 7th section; but the Legislature, in allowing a sum mary process before Magistrates, only limited the punish ment to persons "being convicted thereof in the manner hereinafter mentioned." Where there were no Judge and no Jury to decide, and where the summary process was Permitted, the punishment was not to exceed three months' i mprisonment. But where there was an indictment for a conspiracy, then the case would be tried before a Judge and Jury, both in England and Ireland ; and if a conviction took place, a much longer punishment could be inflicted; a nd: as it seemed in Scotland, even transpor ta t ion could be imposed. There was, then, no violation of the Act on the conviction that bad taken place. The object of the Act was to secure individual freedom. The very recital of the Act showed that it was intended upon the one hand to make com bination perfectly legal, and upon the other to punish the in fringement upon the rights of third persons. The Act had bee n called the Great Charter of the workmen of this country, and it was so.—( Hear, hear.) That charter distinctly re cognised the right of each individual to his liberty, and the la w protected that individual in the exercise of his labour. The efforts made by combinatora to raise their wages when Confined i to themselves were legitimate , and as long as they 'kept within the bounds of the law they ought not to be dis turbed but it appeared that they had forgotten the maxims W s"'Which they ought to act. They were not ent itl e d to a ges out of capital ; ;they were only entitled to them out of )r ofits, and if their employers made no profits the wages must decrease. Wages, which were the price of labour, must de- Pend upon the demand ; and when the supply was greater ;"ao the demand, the price of labour of c ourse must be Lowered. This was the condition of Ireland ; there was a great supply of labour, and a small demand for it. Labour w as in such quantities that labourers w e r e read y to acce p t the small wages of sixpence a day. Labour there was so Cheap because there was no demand for it. The question, then, in Ireland was, how was the demand to be created ? There was but one way of creating the demand. It was only to be created by tempting capitalists to the country, in order that having cheap labour they might have profits from it. The Misfortune of Ireland was, that tradesmen, impatient of their Present state of suffering, did not wait for a g radual and pro gressive improvement, but they endeavoured by monop ol y to supply that which ought to arise from the competition of em- PLoSers._( Hear.) The workmen of the C it y of Dublin (for "is attention was directed to Ireland) sought a remedy in mo nopoly. They had endeavoured to narrow the supply, in order that the demand might be kept up, and the amount of the Wages preserved. The demand did not e q ual the q uantity ' labour iu the market. The combination had for its o b j ect ' ls to close the market of labour; it sought to force persons from entering into a competition in the market of labour, and to r aise the wag es by diminishing the supply. The mon o p ol y t"' almost complete in Dublin. There was nothing to equal t he regulations and the arrangements for keeping up that ru tillopoly. The Right Honourable Gentleman had well s aid that there was no tyranny equal to that which was e"ereised by such persons over their fellow - lab ourers who en deavoured to carry their own labonr into t he market. He h ad wished to shew those persons the folly of their course, as svell as its illegality and wickedness. He had wished to strew t heist the evils and the defects of their monopoly. He had in terviews for hour after hour with the deputation of different tradesee, and he must say that he had ne v e r met with men of more ability, seldom with men of more information, and never With men of more talent in putting their views of their own e ase; but instead of discussin g individual cases he had wished fo r a public discussion. He had sought for, lie had challenged Public discussion. The authorities of the city of Dublin had sanctioned it ; he had made two efforts at discussion ; the em- Players all attended for the purpose of discussion ; they were r eady to discuss the subject, and to show how injurious the monopoly was to the tradesmen themselves. These attempts Were vain ; for the workmen, by an organized arrangement, over- Powered the employers, the authorities, and himself. They refused to hear him; they would not listen to him, as they ,a,cknowl e d g ed ; they did not deny the violation of the law , and re, expressed their determination to persevere in it. They had objected to the discussion—they refused it. He had at lea s t d one hi e duty, and the fault was not his; the crime was theirs, and if punishment followed from it they must blame themselves for Hear, hear.) He had stated that there Was combination in Dublin, the workmen were associated in regular bodies, and he had new to show the effects of that combination. The plan they adopted was this ;—lt consisted of several parts ; first, there was a l ar ge sum char g ed for ad reission into the regular bodies, The object of this wee to M ahe the monopoly as close as possible, The next was to limit, as much as possible, the number of apprentices. His Hon. Friend had talked of his being an enemy to the limiting , 1 _ Lumber of apprentices. The law said there should be no 'bit to the number of apprentices. The tradesm en said if they aid not limit the number of apprentices, the avarice of the ; c asters would induce them, for the purp ose of receiving fee, to take a great number of them , an d thus to overeto the ele trade. He wanted to know if there were not in the nature of things a remedy for this. The masters too k, it was said, the apprentices for the sake of the fee. Surely it was the W age and the wish of the parent to take care of h i s child. "a -s not th e guardianship of the parent a good and sufficient I h °rne tly for any such case? Surely the father would not Ow away I s i s money and the time of his child by. sending he to a trade likely to be overstocked. Sure l y this would much better than any regulations of trade. Surely, if any tonve being had a regard for anything, it must be for his i i .n°fle Y and his child ; and yet the legisl ators of the trade said t Was necessary for them to have the guardian shi p of g rown- U?t Parents over their own children , and to p revent them iTh 'ing away their money. The next regulat ion was to C ompel workmen not to work under a minimum rate of wages. Pro fits were so high that no en ployer could Imo sufficient , "fits to enable him to give any man more than a reinimura rate of the wages. They prescribed a minimum rate of wages, s tv o that the best workman could not receive more than the r , (w lt• This was one of the rigid and iron rulee of the car ers, that no man was to receive less than 4s. Bd. a day; 4 ` . i le uneducated labour was not paid more than sixpence a th . Y. Th e carpenters insisted upon having 4s. Bd. a day, and zjY took sway the funds for paying the skilful workmen, who I glit and oht to be paid tit ice as much as the unskilful p: l 'krnen. Many men could earn mall Mole than others, and tbe employers would be glad to give higher wages, but that 1,, e 1 were conspellud to give high wag es to the weeet. men. "e next rule was, not to leave the ehoice of workmen to 71 4 10 e -ere. In the body each pereon'e name wee put down n ff certain order in a book, scud if an em p lo y er wanted a work r flabs lie had to take that person 'stein name was the first pn •; t le or d er of the book; an d if the employer eftlesed that Poison lie could not get any other wor kman.—( Hear. That gas the tyranny bear.) The ems • exercised over him.—(llcer, go te_r_: i to be sure, might turn away that man, but then Itsi must e k a back to the book and get another. The carpenters 04V . Cu t , t to this extent, that no man eeseld take less wages them Settled by them, even if turned away as 444*.VUli if the same man was turned away a second time as unskilful, he should receive the same rate of wages. If the same man was then turned away, and a third employer objected to give him the same rate of waves, he should do so at the risk of having hfs business stopped. Then, if turned away a third time as unskilful, there was a jury, consisting of Circe of his comrades, to decide upon the complaint of his unskilfulness ; and if he was found not to be a skilful man, then " the indulgence" was allowed to him of taking a less rate of wages. The rules of the carpenters illustrated the system of combination in Dub lin, and if the House would indulge him, he should read some of their rules.—( Hear.) The first rule was this :____ " That every person from the country, not having worked more than one month in the city of Dublin, or within ten miles thereof, being desirous of becoming a member of this commu nity, shall be admitted on paying the sum of seven guineas ; and ten guineas to be the admission of colts, each person pay ing half the sum at first payment." The sixth rule is this : " That no carpenter employer be allowed to take or hold more than three apprentices at any time—that is, two indented and one transferred, or two transferred and one indented; the transferred boy or boys must be in all cases those who were originally bound to regular employers or regular operwives. No firm to take advantage of this rule, as there are no more apprentices allowed to any firm, than there are to any single or individual employer." Ile believed that a more glaring, or more daring violation of law than this had never been heard of.—( Hear, hear.) He could show the Right Hon. Gentle. maa opposite, that the effect of such regulations had been to lessen the number of employers. There was another rule (the 17th) which precluded ally member from giving a de tailed return for any work, except for jobbing. Su that an em ployer could not have a detail of the day's work from one of his men. He now turned to the twenty-sixth rule: —" That any member of this community, on proof of his being dis charged from three different:employments for inability, to be proved by throe of his shopmates, one from each employment, men of known integrity, may get indulgence for what wages the committee and his shopmates may think him worthy of." Now, who, he asked, having capital, would not dispose of it as soon as he could, rather than submit to this dictation ( Hear, hear.) What had occurred since this species of com bination had commenced? The cotton-printing had been established in Belfast : it had since been transferred to Dub- lin by Mr. Henry, The cotton-printing was carried on in Belfast by Mr. Grimshaw ; and the combination bad reached to such an extent in two years, that the proprietor would not be allowed to pay higher wages to one man than to another. The proprietor had 107 persons in his employment. He stopped his manufacture for some short time; the workpeople would not r,lent ; the proprietor eventually abandoned the business, and that number of persons were thrown out of employment.—( Hear, hear.) In Bandon an extensive manufactory was established; the proprietor obtained a large contract. He bought machinery, the workmen waited until he had erected the machinery, and they then turned out for higher wages—they said to him, We know that you have got a contract in Spain and in Portugal, and you must therefore give 138 higher wages." The proprietor worked out the quantity which he was by writing bound to supply, and then abandoned the manufactory. The conse quence was, that there was lost to Bandon ever since wages to the amount of from 10,0001. to 12,0001. a year.—( Hear.) What was the consequence of the proceedings of the trades men of Dublin Why, that wages to the amount of 500,0001. a year was driven out of Dublin. Give him inquiry, and he had witnesses ready to prove this fact. Not only was this the fact, but portable articles were brought ready made into Dublin, to an extent that would be actually ludicrous if it were not horrible. In the foundry trade alone, he would be able to prove to demonstration that 10,0001. a.year in wages was lost to Dublin. Mr. Classon, a most respectable gentle man connected with that business, stated this at a public meeting. Another gentleman, a manufacturer in the same line, of the name of - Sheridan, made a statement at a paro chial meeting in Dublin, which if the House would permit him, he would read. After stating a few facts relating to the Eagle Foundry, Mr. Sheridan went on to state, that in conse quence of the rules and regulations of the tradesmen in his em ploy, they were completely his masters, and he was obliged to bow to them in every respect ; that business was driven out of the country every day, in consequence of the manufacturers being prohibited from employing, boys, and other rules of a similarly restrictive nature, and the consequence was that Dublin lost the advantage of having many articles manu factured in it. In order further to show the degree of ty ranny that was exercised over the employers, Mr. Sheridan stated a particular instance in which an industrious man who had been long in his employment, and who had given great satis faction, on being asked if he wished to have anything done for him, replied that he had a boy, his son, who could read and write, and that he would be obliged to his em ployers if they would take him as an apprentice. Mr. Sheridan agreed to take the boy as his apprentice, but his workmen immediately turned out, and he was obliged to turn off the boy.—(Hear, hear.) The combination of tailors in Dublin had raised the price of clothes so high, that young men found it worth their while to go to Glasgow and stop a couple of days there to get their clothes,7,and they actually paid the entire expenses of this trip by the saving in a single suit of clothes.—(A laugh.) This was ludicrous enough, but it was true. There were a number of other instances of this kind, and the result was that business of this description had totally left Dublin. No business would better illustrate this subject than that of ship-building. He remembered that there were at one time in Dublin four principal ship-builders ; there were a number of ships built there, and docks existed, which were very convenient for that purpose. There was not a single ship-builder there at present, and not a single ship was built there. There were nothing but boats built ; and when any vessel put into Dublin in need of repair, it was merely cobbled up, so as to insure its safety across the Chan nel, or to Belfast or Drogheda. Thus was the trade of Dublin annihilated. The employers were prevented from taking apprentices, and from employing any but the regular men; and ono man, who worked in opposition to the regula tions of the combinators, on coming into Dublin across the canal bridge, was, in the presence of upwards of twenty persons, assassinated. One of the consequences was that ship•building was totally driven out of Dublin; and not withstanding the failure of trade, when on a late oc casion Mr. Fagan had txo boats built on a new principle, and finding them useful gave an order for ten more, the moment he did so the workmen turned out, and prevented him from building them in Dublin. The contract was taken to Belfast and executed there, and the very timber to make the boats was conveyed from Dublin to Belfast. Since the passing of the Combination Law four murders bad occurred in Dublin, and though the tradesmen did not with their own hands commit these murders, yet they paid three shil lings a week out of their wages for the hire of these as sassins. This he was fully able to prove. He had as serted it in the presence of the parties themselves, and though certain persons said that they bad nothing to do with it, yet no one denied the existence of the fact. These men, then, who paid the murderers, did not indi vidually commit the crimes themselves, but they contri buted, by payment, to the commission of crimes from which individually they would shrink. In Cork, within the last two or three years, no less than thirtpseven persons had been burnt with vitriol so as to lose their eyes, while in Dublin four murders had been committed before the repeal of the Combination Law, and three more recently. There were dully outrages; and who, he would ask, committed those outrages I It was well known that they were com mitted by a body of men called Welters. It would be very hard to get legal evidence against these men. There bad been so little sympathy in Ireland between the governed and governors for many years, that no man who came forward in aid of a Government prosecution would feel himself safe. It was therefore difficult to get legal evidence; but there was abundant to satisfy any man of the number and nature of the crimes of these :men.—( Hear.) There was not a day but some crime was committed. On Thursday last the house of a timber-merchant was set on fire, after he had received twenty-two notices. Thus, though the tradesmen them selves did not actually commit murder, they were enabled, by means of these Welters, who were ready to commit any crime to controul their employers. About a fortnight before he (Mr. O'Connell) left Dublin, he was informed by a manufacturer that a man and his wife in his employment had died of the cholera, leering two orphan children. The master agreed to take these orphans as apprentices without any fee, and to support them during their apprenticeship ; but his men turned out, and obliged him to discard the two orphans. So terrible was the power of the Welters, that this gentleman did not care to resist their mandates. If the House would allow him, he would road Iwo uses that had occurred w ishin s tlie last two months before the Courta in Dublin, They would give a better idea than anything lie could say of the extent of the power of the system instituted by those men. On the 4th of January two men, of the names of Quin and Murphy, were tried for beating a man violently. The evidence wont to show that the only offence of the prosecutor was his not belonging to the combination, he not being able on demand to give the sign of recognition. The other case cecurred on the 11th of January, when a man and his wife were severely beaten, merely because the man was not a corn binator. Did he complain of the police of Dublin ? A change had taken place, and the police of Dublin was now as different as possible. But he thought lie had a right to say that the magistracy of Dublin required to be changed. He did not complain of any designed faults, but Mr. Blacker :was now ninety years of age, and was still a police magis trate. Major Sirr was eighty-two years old, and Alderman Barley was seventy-five. M en w h o h a d serve d fifteen, ;twenty, or thirty years in the police, ought to be removed by the Government, and why did not Government remove them? Hear, hear.) Police magistrates were entitled to retire ,after a certain term of service, but with only two-thirds salary. This wa s a false economy. It would be much better, :after men had served for twenty or thirty years, to allow them to retire with their full salary. He hoped Government would consider this, an d a ll ow t h os e gentleu ic e t o retire on a full salary, an d to aapn i ut an effi cient magistracy. He thought he had ma d e out a comp l e te e as ase if f i o le r w in e q r u e ir t y ile .—( Hear, hear.) H a d h e ma d e out hi s case enemy of the trad esman ? H e h a d ma d e out his case as the frlead of the child, whom he wanted to have educated in trade.—( Hear, hear, hear.) lie had made out hit case as the friend of the good workman, who ought to re to see capital and the number of eeitie large gages.—( Hear, hear, hear.) He had made out his case as one who wished employers increased, by which the labourers would legiti rotely obtain largo - wages.—( Hear, hear.) Could anything be more abotoinalsle than the present monopoly ; and were men to be allowed to enter inie these combinations for the purpuSo of p pomitting4-Jury and injustice upon Was there . any other country in ' the wnrrd itlwhieli it wag 'so de thebou employment of l a b our as i n F e . r was immense, an d t h e i ncrease d si l a r l,, a d b e _ e encourage zan; t u in la *ealih would is t e' immense ppit4l were employed. — Hear, hear, hear.) If he tad not 1 .44 04 a ease satisfac• toady, avisuid refsr to a statement made 'by the merchants of Dublin, WI4QII WAS ei p T r t q' t H r P! The Honourable THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY, FEERUARY 14. IS3S, aid Learned Member read certain resolutions passed at meeting of the merchants ef Dullin, denouncing in strong terms illegal combinations, and setting forth many of the regu lations of combinators, which were in direct violatio n o f the law of the land. He saw, in a petition which had been presented by his lion. Friend the Member for Finsbury (Mr. Wakley), that this meeting, at which these statements were male, was composed of Repealers. Who were these Re peelers ? The Lord Mayor of Dublin, the Sheriffs, the Al dermen. the entire Corporation, with whom he had been battling all hi; life, bankers, who had several of them taken an active part in politics against him, many ' class of merchants of the same descrip tion, and, in tine, who agreed with him in his general po litics, but who totally differed with him in his struggle for a separate Parliament ; but all of them had agreed to the reso lutions to which he referred. It Ives manifest that the House could not refuse this inquiry. The only question appeared to him to be, whether the inquiry should be extended to Great Britain, or confined to Ireland ? He claimed that it should be extended to Great Britain, and for these reasons :—lt was from Manchester that these Unions came : and in a proclam ition which had lately issued from the Unionists of that town, he (Mr. O'Connell) was called the deadly enemy of the tradesman, and the tradesmen of Dublin were told that until they rid themselves of him they could never obtain their social rights ; that with - him thy were not safe, but that without him they would be able successfully to struggle for their rights. This seemed very much Ile en invitation to make short work of him (Mr. O'Connell), but lie did not think that such could have been the intention. Look, again, at the murder of Smith, in Glasgow, one of the chief towns in moral and educated Scotland. Was it true or false what the witnesses of the Crown had sworn to on the late trial ? Were not the facts of a nature imperatively to call for in quiry? But were there no recent instances in England? lied they not read in the newspapers of the week language ap plied to the Poor laws of a most dreadful nature? Had not the measure on that subject been misrepresented in every possible way, in order to inflame the minds of the people? At the meeting held at Manchester, on Monday the sth of February, delegates from 48 places attended, amongst others from Bolton, Macclesfield, Salford, Liverpool, Wigan, Old ham, Preston, Stockport, Warrington, Hyde, Huddersfield, &c. The Rev. Mr. Stephens spoke in this strain—" If this Bill were established, it should be eye for eye, tooth for tooth, wife for wife, child for child, man for man, and blood for blood, so help him God." At Stockport, on Tuesday, February 6, 1838, the Rev. Mr. Stephens figured again, and in concluding a speech on the same subject, said:— " A man whom he never had seen before, told him he had come from an agricultural district, and that rather than be separated from his wife he had prepared a knife for the parties who made the separation. lie had - come into this district to obtain work, and having done so, he had a knife ready fur any Guardian who should attempt to separate his wife from him. This was the universal feeling of the district, and although he did not coincide with it, it was sufficient to show the law would not be submitted to." Mr. Oastler followed in like spirit :—" He knew that hunger and insult would produce effects more oppressive and awful to certain individuals than even the Commissioners' conduct had been to the people.—( Loud cheers.) He knew that the assassin's knife wculd be used.--( Cheers. )" At Rochdale, the Rev. Mr. Stephens said, " If it were right to confiscate the property of the people, by abrogating the 43d of Elizabeth, it would be right to confiscate the property of Rochdale, and it is right—if the law of Elizabeth is to be destroyed—it is right for the poor to take a dagger in one hand and a torch in the other, and do the best for themselves." Mr. F. O'Connor alluded to the " archfiend Mr. O'Connell." —( A laugh.) Every allusion to Mr. O'Connell at this meet ing was received with loud disapprobation. Several called out that Mr. O'Connell ought to be shot. Mr. Oastler said, " I tell you. Churchmen and Dissenters, before I would sub mit to such an act I would set the whole kingdom in a blaze. lam no incendiary—( A laugh)—but I have affection in my heart; lam willing to work:, and should not blush to ask for my parish pay ; but if I am told I should not receive it, unless I consented to be separated from my wife, I would, if I were to be hanged for it, kill him on the spot." These were specimens of the language held out to the working people of this country and of Scotland—the knife, the torch, and the digger were the weapons recommended ; and the Rev. Mr. Stephens said at Glasgow that he would in volve the whole country in a flame before he suffered this Act to come into operation. If this state of things was proved in England and Scotland, was it not desirable that an inquiry should Ise instituted to ascertain the extent to which it had gone not only in Great Britain but in Ireland also ?—( Hear. ) Did he (Mr. O'Connell) want to re-enact the laws against combinations ? No ; he desired no such thing, for some com binations were not only harmless, but meritorious , and he wished to separate unions of this kind from those of a perni cious character. He did not care for being called the enemy of the working classes, whilst he felt satisfied in his own con science that he was acting as their best friend. He had not yielded to the taunts and malignity of the Aristocracy when he thought that he was in the right, and ho should certainly not now give way to the working classes upon a point in which he considered that they were decidedly in error.—(llear, and cheers.) It had been reported of him that he intended only to direct his observations against the working men, and to exclude their employers from inquiry. Such was not his intention, as was clearly proved by the terms of his notice on the paper; his object was to make the inquiry as complete and searching as possible, and to bring it home to all parties. With these observations, and thanking the House for the indulgence it had extended to him on this occasion, he should conclude by moving the amendment of which he had given notice, namely, " That a Select Ccm mittec be appointed to inquire-into the origin, nature, and ex tent of Trades' unions or combinations of workmen or em ployers of workmen in the United Kingdom, and the tendency of such Unions cr combinations to effect the free distribution of wages, labour, and employment ; and also their tendency to induce the commission of outrages against persons and pro perty, and the perpetration of murder ; and also to report such suggestions for improvement in the existing laws against ille gal combinations or societies as they may deem requisite." The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in the absence of his Noble Friend ( Lord J. Russell), who was de tained from the House by indisposition, would state the course which was proposed. He was anxious to have an unani mous consent to the proposition, as it would be desirable it should go forth that the whole House was resolved steadily to take up the subject, not with a view to serve ono class, but to endeavour to advance the interests both of masters and work.. men. It would, therefore, ke expedient to sacrifice all minor principles for the advancement of the one great principle. H e could r.ot hope for the approval of the lion. Member for Fins bury, whose motion was so open to objection. The proposi tion of the lion. Gentleman was to appoint a Select Committee to review a judgment passed by a Court of Justice. Mr. WAK LE Y disclaimed any such intention. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was of opi.. nion that the whole tenor of the Hon. Gentleman's motion was to revive a questien which had already been decided byi k competent tribunal. That there should be a general inquiry into these combination; and their effects, both as regarded the masters and the workmen, no person could doubt who had listened to the debate ; and he wee prepared with a mo tion which would, perhaps, fulfil - the object the lion. and Learned Member for Dublin had in view. If so, he hoped the Hon. and Learned Member would leave the matter in the hands of the Government. He would therefore move for a Select Committee, to inquire into tint operation of the Bth of George the Fourth, and to inquire generally into the constitu tion, the proceedings, and the extension of Trades' Unions, or combinations of workmen, or of the employers of workmen, in the United Kingdom, and to report thereon. It was the in tention of Government to carry on the inquiry in the most impartial manner, and, as the inquiry was to extend to both countries, so also should any remedial measure be founded thereupon. There was no intention of wrong or injury to the working classes. The object was to protect them in their just interests, and to procure for them the free exercise of their owl; powers. If this was necessary to any country, it was pecu liarly called for by Great Britain and Ireland, where the rapid progress of mechanical improvement tended ultimately to in crease the demand for labour. Labour was principally the capital of Ireland, and any thing which tended to check its pro• gross checked the progress of capital also. He hoped to have the concurrence of the Gentlemen opposite in the proposition which he mr.de ; and he also Itopod that they would concur with him in bearing testimony to the praiseworthy efforts which the Hon. and Learned Gentleman (Mr. O'Connell) had lately made in Ireland, even at the :64 of hie popularity as a great leader, when he felt called upon to discharge an important duty.—(Cheers.) It was a noble example, worthy of public approval ; and even those in Ireland who were gene rally adverse to the Hon. and Learned Gentleman admired his conduct on this occasion. Mr. 0' CONN EL L then withdrew his amendment. Mr. HUME would advise the Hon. Member for Finsbury to leave the subject in the hands of Government, as the course most advantageous to those whose cause he advocated. Mr. D. W. II AR VE Y preferred the motion of the Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer to that of the Hon. Member for Finsburv, as being more general, and embracing the influence of combination on masters as well as on work men. Still the amendment was too narrow to produce any useful results. He should like to hear from the Chancellor of the Exchequer that all the subjects connected wi4ll combi nation should be brought under the cognizance of the Commit tee, arid that they should be directed to inquire into all the laws that prejudiced and deterl_rated the property of labour. The property cf labour was convertible produce; and it would therefore be necessary to ascertain any laws which militated against the power of converting property in labour into food and raiment. Ile should like to have a full inquiry into all such laws, not excluding the Corn Laws ; and if, as ho appre hended, it was not the intention of Ministers to ero into the consideration of these, he could riot consider the proposed inquiry a fair or an honest one. Ho should, therefore, when the Committee was appointed, move that it be an instruction to them to inquire into all the laws affecting the rights of labour.. —( Hear, hear, and cheers.) What would be the use of their ponderous reports? What service had it done him when he was injured to a vast pecuniary extent by another species of combina tion ? He, himself a Member of that House, had been robbed of his profession. He had been prevented from di! ecting his talents, such as they were, to pursuits which' might - have ensured him eminence 'and distinction. The Chairman of the Committee who had inquired into his case, an eminent lawyer, maintaining by his character the distinction which he so eminently deserved—yes, that Hon. and Learned Gentle man had said, both in that House and in Dublin, in answer to the charge, that there was ors, - I . leinetien In his own pro fession,---i• that the henourable Member for Southwark had been cruelly depriVed of emoluments to the amount of 100,0001." This was an admission of the Chairman ; and vet what llave the Committee darip ? Uit thq viOicate their own reports ? No ; but he (Iw. Harvey) had challenged inquiry, and said that if it did not prove favourable in the result, he would retire from the House. put no inquiry was institted tnd ho4q,s were crushed, and his prospects blasted, because Government , 111 not the honesty or the courage to do him ju,ti•e. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman then went on to say—When this Committee is appointed, and you expect something to be lone, must you not anticipate a long period to elapse before any proceeding is taken by the Government, to which 1 should have been asham^d to belong if I failed to give effect to such a Report of this House as that to which I have alluded? I call, upon the House to give seine force to that report, and I feel juFtified in demanding that the Government should either move my expulsion, or not to suffer one of the Members of this House, who for twenty years has been returned by la-ge and respectable constituencies, to be crushed, and to have his fortunes blasted, from no Member of the Government, either lay or legal, having the courage or honesty to carry the Re port of a Committee into operation.—( Cheers.) Mr. G. F. YOUNG differed from the lion. Member for Southwark, and was rejoiced at the prospect of having this impo r t an t question calmly viewed. If the inquiry was con ducted in a candid spirit, he anticipated the most favourable results. Mr. WYNNE concurred in the proposition of the Right lion. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer. lie hoped the inquiry would i:-.elude all sorts of combination, and amongst others, those to prevent the renting of lands, and the free exercise of the elective franchise. When death's heads and cross-bones were affixed to the doors of those who exercised the franchise according to their wishes, it was not to be wondered at if the same spirit, working in another way, should at last lead to murder.—(llear, hear.) Ile would be most happy if any measure having a tendency to cheek illegal combinations would arise out of the labours of the Committee. Mr. SL ANE Y said that the foundation of all the com bination was in popular ignorance. He knew of au instance in Kidderminster, when the tyrannical spirit of combination had produced tha effect of driving away the trade to a spot in Scotland. Mr. HINDLE Y rose amid loud cries of " Question," and said that lie should propose the adjournment of the debate until to-morrow, as there was this singular feature in it, that no one who employed the operatives had spoken on the sub ject. It had been introduced by a medical gentleman, and gentlemen on the landed interest had spoken upon it. He was, however, glad to find that it had been taken out of the hands of the Hon. Member for Finsbury, and the Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin. Mr. FIE LDEN considered that the Government was ac tuated in its conduct by the dread of the excitement which then prevailed on the subject of the Poor-law. Mr. WA KLE Y said that he had very little to say in reply. —( Hear, hear.) But notwithstanding the cheers of Hon. Gentlemen, he must say that lie was surprised to hear the speech of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman the Member for Dublin, who spoke of the tranquillity of Ireland, when he had been given to understand that every day brought forth its con comitant outrage.—( Hear, hear.) He considered that more blood had been shed in a single tithe case than in all the trade combinations that had been entered into. The motion was then by leave withdrawn, and the follow ing, amendment, by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, agreed t o : --That a Select Committee be appointed "to inquire into the operation of the Act, 6th Geo. 4, c. 129, and generally into the constitution, proceedings, and extent of any Trades' Unions or Combinations of workmen, or Employers of Work men, in the United Kingdom, and to report their observations thereon to the House."—The Committee to be, nominated on Thursday. Mr. BARRON obtained leave to bring in a Bill for ap winting Commissioners to inquire into the Charities in reland. the ATTORNEY-GENERAL obtained lease to bring in a Bill to amend the registration of votes in England and Mr. BARNEBY moved the third reading of the Custody o f Insane Persons' Bill, which was read a third time ac cordingly. fiER.NAL then brought up the Report of the Com mittee of Wa‘s and Means, granting to her Majesty the sum of 11,413,756/. to pay off and discharge any Exchequer bills charged on the aid or supplies of the year 1837 or 1833 re maining unpaid or unprovided for. And that a sum not ex ceeding 2,000,0001. be granted to her Majesty to disell&rga the like amount of supplies granted for the service of the year 1537, or any preceding year. The Waterford House of Industry Bill went through Com mittee. ---- Colonel SIBTHORP gave notice that he would, on Thursday next, call the attention of the House to certain ap pointments recently made by her Majesty's Government, as well as to certain other appointments pending at present. He should say nothing then of the appointment to the vacant Commissionership of Greenwich Hospital. But he thought it his duty to call the attention of the House to the general subject. NEW WRIT. Mr. W. HOLMES moved for a new writ for Vie borough of Bridgnorth. Lord PALNIF,RSTON brought up certain returns re specting outsutuding Exchequer bills. The House then adjourned at One o'Clock. HIGHLY IMPORTANT FROM CAN ADA. EVACUATION OF NAVY ISLAND. (From New York Papers received to the 20th ult., incluslvta) Correspondence of the Albany Evening Journal. BusTato, JAN. 5, 1838.—Heavy Bring having been heard hero for four hours past, great anxiety has been felt ia reference to the ex pected battle at Navy Island. The cars have just come up, by which we learn that the Royalists commenced a tremendous fire upon the Island from the main shore, at one o'clock this afternoon. They have sixteen pieces of artillery and several mortars, all of which are in the most active opperation. The force is 'about 4,000 Militia, 200 Regulars, and 250 Indians ; the latter mostly arrived last night in canoes, from above. With these, and the assistance of the steam boat Thames and their schooners, lying at Black Creek, two miles above the island, it is expected they will attack the Patriots to.night. The Partriot force is about 1,000 to 1,9.00, as near as we can learn, and a more determined set of men for good or evil, were probably never congregated. They have also thirty pieces of artillery, and are well supplied with small arms and other munitions of war. Correspondence of the Albany Argus. NIAGARA FALLS, JAN. s.—Dear Sir—An attempt at mediation and negotiation, on the part of some of our respectable citizens, between the authorities in Canada and the persons on Navy Island, has been made ; but it was suddenly broken off for some cause or other, and a Committee that had been appointed did not proceed to Canada, though they had htld some slight communication with General Van Rensslaer. M. jor Smith of this place, went over yesterday, and he discovered sere_ go i n g over again. General Whit ney, a l so a citizen of this ed rat signift can t a ppearances of his being detained, an d b es id es, after his papers were deliver ed, he was ordered to quit the province immediately. He village, offered in to go. He was permitted to re t urn, and treated very Island may re move from thence unmolested. civilly while there. B e had an intervie w with the Governor o f more time an hour. The common re p ort of the answer to thi s mi ss i on i s, t , a h t e t t h h e persons e the o consider this a favour, a nd are dis p osed to accept of it, I d o no t k now. The position of the island is a strong one, but it is a bad place on whi c h to spend the winter. (From the Buffido Commercial Ad vertiser of Friday.) L yon Mackenzie arrived in this c it y last evening, and put up "pirates " at the American H otel. He came, ,ate on Nav y ' (to adopt the na me applied to them in Canada) it is said, to provide an asylum for his wife, who has hitherto refused -to leave him. While here, on his way up, he was arrested by the United States Marshal, on the charge of armed force in this State, for the invasion of a • raising an country with which we are at peace. W Sh • Messrs. W. Sherwood, R. T. Brown, and P. Dorsheimer, promptly offered to became his bail, which was accepted, and he was liberated. The amount of the bail bon:1 was 5,000 dollars. Upon these c i r cumstances being known a l arge crowd collected, who veiled their enthusia sm by givingrepeattal cheers for Mackenzie. Some evil-minded persons set afloat a rumour that James L. Barton, Esq., had entered the complaint, and procured the arrest. Thereupon Mr. Bar co ton, who was very a ny looking out of th e w i ndow, was greeted with sundry groans. More cheers being demanded f or M ackenzie, an old Dutchman hissed. Ile was handed over the heads of the crowd for some distance. rwercial were the! Dr, Foot= and the Cot.. complimented with a repe tition of the honours awarded to hir. Barton, for which we cannot feel sufficiently grateful. Genera I Burt also received t he ho nour. Mr.. Tillinghast attempted to speak in favour of Mr. Barton, but could not get a heminf,. Mr. Mackenzie being called upon, George P. Barker, Esq., made a short speech, assuring the crowd of Mr. Mackenzie's safety, and that he would be permitted to return to Navy Island. The meeting then dissolved. (Front the .lialfalo Commercial Ado:rtiser, Jan. 13. NiTT Isnaxn.--:-There was realty a tremendous cannonading at Navy Island last night. It commenced about eleven, and lasted till two, and was kept up with the greatest spiri t on b • h • u. sides. Near Schlosser it sounded like All incessant roar of artillery. The • y. he wind being favourable i t was heard distinctly in this city. A friend says he couoted above 300 reports. By extracts from an extra of the Chronicle Office at Niagara, in another column, it will be seen that part of the 24th regiment havo arrived from Montreal. The unwonted activity on the Canada shore is probably on ing to their presence. In addition to cannon-shot, the Ca nadians threw a large number of bombs, A letter from the island dated this morning, to a young gentleman of this city, states that none ware killed, but it is reported that some eight or ten were wounded. We h a ve no information on which we can rely as to the loss of the British. About twelve o'clock last night the express came up from Schlosser with information that Van Rensselaer and all his force had landed on our shore, and it was thought they were coining up the river with the inten tion of crossing over to Canada at Black Rock. The alarm bell was in stantly rung, the drums beat to arms, guns were fired, and many, doubt less, thought that the city was about to become the scene of a conflict The Governor and General Scott immediately repaired to the Rock, whore, in a short time, the militia, artillery, and city guards, were as sembled. The report that the Navy Islanders had left their position turned out to be unfounded, and the military force returned this morn ing to the city. Governor Marcey and General Scott, we undtrstand, have gone down t o S chlosser. In the afternoon the Governor, accompanied by General Scott, re viewed in the Court House-park) the 2Sth, 25th, and 7th regiments to artillery—forming part of General Randall's brigade ; and afterwards the portion of General Burt's brigade of infantry that is now in this city. The latter were reviewed on Court-street, between Pearl and Franklin streets, very ne2r tic same ground where General Scott drilled his men for some months before the battles of Chippewa au.. Lund Y's Lane, i n 1 8 1 4. The fine companies of the City Guards pass•scl in review in front of the Eagle Tavern. LATER. (From the Bufi'alo Commercial .tdvcrtiser.—Extra.) January 13, Five o'clock, P.m. " Grand island, Friday Evening, Jan. 12, IS3B. " I spent several hours on Navy Island at General Van Rensselaer's heal-quarter., a log h ouse , f rom which the family had removed to Colonel Ayer's quarters on Grand Island, w h ose generous hosp i ta li ty 1 am at present enjoying, They left on the island a yoke of oxen, which are very sersiceable to the soldiers; a cow, which supplies tho ofticcri with ; twenty-four pigs, some of which hays ' % i.tArt slaughtered; and a few fowls. There are but two hoxs„c4 - , c tne island, used by the General,.and for the " zr.., , ,nd round." They live comfortably, consi. esvviaily since the capture of the British pork. "'Three loads had b een b oug ht an d p a id fo.• in silver, at the rate of d ab e o rl u '; t g 3 , 0 dollars per barrel. The Patriots got wind of it, and a party went and took seventeen barrels,. " ip . 4,--„A cannonading has commenced from the Caps a OW% which has been kepi up with spirit for the last half hour. These have been tirel 200 guns, some dozen bomb shells, and ono or two ro tkets. I sit where I ca❑ see every Eases. 'Tis a splendid spec tacle. All the shells but one have burst in the air. They are throwing away arcrinunition. I calculate the chance of their hitting any bcdy on the island 1r lin 7,634, cr thercalnmts. But two or three shots h :ve been fired from Navy Island. I hear a stray ball whistle now and then, brit nothing near enough to be at all terrific. " No boats are on the Canada side of the river, and the cannonading, still continues. An assault upon the island is out of the question. One from the island upon Chippewa is boldly talked of. 'Diemen have even volunteered for the expedition. The fire,which commenced so furious, has slacked away, and I now hear and see about two shots per minute. They had fired away about 7001bs. of powder. A few mere guns had been fire 1 from the island, and the Royal batteries are silenced, for the limo at least. The guns have cooled and tie cannonading has recommenced with a shot from Navy Island occcsionally. I have heard cheering from both sides. Monxtrin.—The firing co.itinued at inte:vals all niett, and has been the heaviest cannonading they have had Burin; the war. The firing during the latter part of the night was from both sides, ai.d each, like a wonlin, wanted the last word," (From the Rocheztcr Democrat, Jan, 13.) The man killed on Navy Island oil the 9th, was Nelson Beebe, from Po'tneyville, Wayne County. He had been rezularly discharged, some tims siner , tl-om an American frigate. No other deaths had occurred on the Island. ilratIGLE PATMOTal.—Brave men, driven from their homes by the tyranny and remone'essness of the Tory Government of Upper Canada, are constantly .Hiving In this city, on their way to the tri-coloured standard of freedom which has been raised upon Navy Island. Oa Thursday night, a vessel, having on board forty or fifty persons —among whom were sev:ral entire families--arrival at the mouth of the river from Presque Isle. They were r.il hale, heat ty, and respect, able-looking people, and the men wit do good service when they meet their oppressors in the battle-field. When about leaving, the Custom-house oaiocr at preioP:lsle, threat. ened to (Ltain the ve.sel, but before his thrrati e , '',ll:l be put into exeeu tion she moved oil:, Another small craft frelil White Marsh Ha►bour, late on Thuuday night, with four staunch patriots. One of them was Colonel Gibson, for whose head Governor Head has offered 500/. The escape was ef. feeted by stratnem, and attended with imminent hazard. Niagara Falls, Jan. 10, 1838. This morning a schooner was observed from Navy Island coming dawn the river, which anchored about a mile from them. They, how. ever, were soon given to understand, by the islanders that they could not remain iu safety where they were; for an eighteen.pounder was brought to bear upon her from the upper end of the island, which made them hoist sa'e and make their way back with considerable injury, having had two balls passed through her sides. About noon one of the men on the island observing several Indians on the Canada shore, near the battery, fired his musket at them, and tire salute was immediately returned by two discharges of cannon. At this the islanders commenced a tire upon the battery on the Canada shore, winch was responded to by the loyalists, and the tire soon be came general on both sides, during which sixteen men on the Canada shore arc reported, by good authority, to have been killed or wounded, as they were distinctly seen by men on Grand, as well as Navy Island, t,) fall, and after wards to be placed on carts and drawn away from the battery. On the island three men were slightly injured by the frozen earth, occasioned by the cannonballs striking the ground ; and a man by the name of Macgregor was al,o injured by a six-pound ball, which passed between his right arm and side, tearing his coat and vest off, and knocking him down. The firing lasted about three hours. (From the Niagara Cu. c.) Chronicle.) TUESDAY EVENING, JAN. 9, 1838.—The Traveller has just arrived w;th three companies of the 24th lle, - ;iment (about 260 fine young fellows), under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes. acy are well provided with field-pieces, bombs, and all other munitions vial. By the arrival we learn that 700 men of the 33d and Regiments are in Kingston, mty be daily expected on thi7., frontier. All the regulars in New Brunswick (who will be suaneded by troops on their voyage from Britain) have taken up their fir of march for the Canadas, and the Government packet, which broo ant the order for this movement, also brings the intelligence that several line.of.battle ships have sailed from England for the Halifax s...ation, in consequence of the intelligence communicated by the last ;lisp:itches of Lord Gosford. (Frottl the New York Herald of the 19th.) ALBANY, JA.X, 14, 1838.-1 run happy to inform you, on the very best authority, that advices have been received from Van Rensselaer, stating it to be his intention to evacuate the island on Saturday, the 13th, He says that he has steam-boats enough to transport all his troops, arms, baggage, &e. His destination is up the lake to join Duneombe. The latter hero is encampzd with a large force on the is'and Bois Blanc, immediately opposite Detroit. There was ni excitement in D.troit on the subject. A large number of recruits had left Cleve land on their way to Duncombe's army. Sutherland having been suc cessful in his mission, had returned to Navy Island on the 11th inst. I have just seen a letter confirming the news of a rupture between M`Nab and Sir Francis Head. The quarrel arose from the Schlosser affair. It Is said that the valiant Colonel will be arraigned for his con duct to relation to this business. The gallant Major Kirby has also re signed. There are no troops at Chippewa but a small company ill at. tendance upon Governor Head. There is a large collection of arms in this city destined to the fron tier. They will be sent off probably to-morrow. The committee of sympathisers arc in a quandary. They do not know how to get them to the insurgents, as Van Rensselaer will have left Navy Island before they arrive. A company of 150 armed Canadians passed through Rochester en Friday, bound to the Island. What is this ? If peop'e had their senses about them they would call it a violation of neutrality in this nation to permit such things. ALBANY, JAN. 15, 1888.-1 have dates from Buffalo to the evening of Friday, the 12th instant. Governor Scott and Governor Marcy at. rived in the morning about two o'clock. They went post-haste. The madness of the sympathisers requires post-haste movements. Pity that Mr. Van Buren had not waked up a month ago. It was understood among the special friends of American renegades on Navy Island, that their valiant hero would move off on Friday night, says a later to a Member of the Legislature from his Mend in Buffalo. Sympathising George Dawson, of the Daily Democrat, says, in his last letter, that the Barcelona had been busily engaged in supplying the rebels with flour. She was one of the boats intended for the expedition up the lakes. It is believed here that a British officer is the real Commander on N.ivy Island. A citizen of Osweg) states that this is the fact. He tells me that he knows the gentleman, but would not give hie name. This, is extremely probable, and will account for Um strict order kept on the bland. (From the New York American of the :20th ) FROM THE FRONTIER—EVACUATION OF NAVY ISLAND. The northern mail arrived at a late hour last night, bringing the Albany papers of yesterday morning, and Buffalo of Monday last. It will be seen by the annexed intelligence that the patriots have evacuated Navy Island and dispersed. The cannon belonging to the Sate and the United States have been returned, and are under the care 'if Colonel Ayres, of the militia stationed on Grand Island. Buff.do, Jan. 15, 1835. Dear Sir—l avail myself of an express, on the eve of starting for the East, to say that the force a , sembled on Navy Island evacuated last night—that they ama now somewhere on our shore, it is understood, endeavouring to make their way to some point higher up, to embarkfor where is not precisely known—without arms. The State cannon are being recovered. The marshal is on the qui vice, with his deputies (di rected by the districtattorney), to serve civil processes on the leaders, if they can be found. From personal examination, I am satisfied that the six or seven huts. Bred guns, shot and shell, thrown upon the island killed but one man. The English force, it is believed, lost 16 killed by the return fire. Go. vernor Marcy and General Scott are here doing all that existing laws Permit to maintain neutrality. The Governor has been very active and efficient under circumstances of great difficulty. (From the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser.) " Schlosser, Monday morning, Jan. 15, 1638. " Navy Is!and was evacuated last night. The cannon belonging to the United States have been returned, and are lying at Schlosser." Thus far the dispatch of our correspondent. We give below such additional information as we have subsequently learned. It is believed that the larger portion of Van Rensielaer's men have landed on the adjacent parts of Grand Island, having previously sent across the muskets, &c. belonging to the State, which were committed to the custody of Colonel Ayres. The further movements of the dis banded force are left to conjecture. Two o'clock, p.m. Governor Marcy and General Scott, who came up from the Falls last evening, left in extra cars, accompanied by General Wool, about half past twelve to-day, for Black Rock, and will perhaps proceed to Grand Island. Two companies of artillery, with two field pieces, also left here for that quarter. This step, we understand, is in consequence of intelligence that an armed British schooner is lying in our waters, down the river, with ho,. tile intentions towards the steam-boat Barcelona, or any craft that may be employed in aid of the Navy Islanders. While writing the above several discharges of cannon have been heard from that direction. A gentleman just arrived says that the , cbooners alluded to have been firing at, he supposes, either the Barce lona, or squads of disbanded Navy Islanders. (Correspondence of the Daily Commercial Advertiser.) Niagara Falls, Sunday, Nine P. . , Jan. 14. Gentlemen,—Your express has just arrived, and I hasten to commu. nicate the movements of the last '24 hours. The terrible cannonading of Friday night did—as I have been assured ')y Afajers Chase and Lawton, and Colonel Freeland, of Navy Island — no damage whatever. Yesterday morning Colonel Ayres, Commandant at Grand Island, wishine to semi a despatch to the Commandant at Chippewa, and I being no whit disinclined to go, procured a. barge, selected four stout fellows, and went across the river, opposite the American barracks. A large number of men crowded round us as we approached the shore, and my oarsmen expected nothing less than to be fired upon, but Instead of that, we were courteously received by the officers. We were, to be sure, surrounded by two boats, but whether to cut off our retreat or not I could not tell. I inquired for headquarters, and was told that I should find the Commandant three miles down the river, at Chippewa. My men were taken care of, and treated very handsomely, while I jumped into oils of their barges, with Colonel Donald, R. A., and Lieut. Elmsley, R.N., and rowed along the Canada shore towards Chippewa, in full view of the batteries on Navy Island, and also those in Canada. I saw the men mustering round their guns, and hurry ing this way and that, and what we expected soon occurred. They opened a fire upon us from the Island with muskets and rifles, and kept up a peppering discharge till wo were out of their reach at Chippewa. This was elegant sport, and the officers for my greater comfort, told me that the balls frequently went into the bank and houses beyond us. The bullets struck round occasionally, and one or two nearly in my range. Colonel M'Donald, however, with a politene.s which does him infinite credit, offered to place himself between me and the guns, which offer, of course, I could nut accept. Upon arriving at Chippewa, to my great surpise, I was introduced to Colonel al`Nab, who has neither resigned, nor has he been super seded yet, as far as I could learn, as you will see by the enclosed documents, with copies of which I was most politely favoured by Colonel Ayres, whose hospitality and kindness has much obliged me. I returned by a back road, as Colonel INl`Nab told the officers I had *no particular interest in being shot by the guns on Navy Island. I sus pect another and quite as strong a reasow was their unwillingness I should inspect their batteries on shore. I conversed with several officers, and gather as follows :—They are anxious to avoid a war with this country—they are more anxious to have our authorities cut off supplies with the island ; and they groan :lretelfully about the cost and trouble they have been put to. They will not attempt the island by assault, but expect to drive the patriots — pirates they call them—from the island by their shells, rockets, and ar tillery. Colonel M'Donald told me they could not have killed less than thirty or forty on Friday night. Others set it higher. He said, that with the exception of those wounded on board the Caroline, but two had been killed on that tide. Every other account makes the loss much greater. Last night some thirty or forty shells were thrown at Navy Island, but not more than three or 'bur lodged upon it, and those did no injury. Returning to Grand Island, we were hailed from Navy Island, but the wind blowilag hard did not hear. The guns were manned in a moment, and levelled, and we expected a shot, but an armed boat was sent out, under command of Major Lawton, to intercept us, when we found we were frieads—not enemies I mean. His crew cheered, and rowed hack again. Governor Marcy, General Scott, the Comreissary-General, and other officials are hero, and I have conversed with them, but ascertained nothing of il:" movements. Something important is certainly on the tads, but what time must develop. In consequence of the number of volunteers on Navy Island, the quar ters arc so crowded they have no room to sleep, and are consequently getting discontented. If possible, every man will go into Canada. I saw so,eral 18 and 34 pound shot WO I upon Grand laland, crown mark union them, ;..‘!so apiece of she!l.- The ;,entrics showe.l me.whqe several shot had struck. They have even whizzed over the;r held ,:bile on duty. In retard to the outrage alluderto, in firing upon the boat, I am in. formed that she was hailed by the sentry when coming hi shore, and or. dered to lay to. She refusal. They threatened to the if she did not. She told them them :o go to heil—fire and be damned ! and they fired, Lieutenant Ehnsloy told me ha was steering at the time, and that one of the balls struck the rud.:er.head and passed between his are and his body. As to the tiring upon the barge, I presume the necessary affidavits can be taken. Perhaps it was " accidental." [Documents enclosed.] (Copy.) FROM COL. IRA AVER, 46 REG., 37 BRIG. N. Y. NIL. t.!. S. lailltACltal GRAND ISLAND, JAN. 13, 1639. Sir,—For several days past cannon-balis and shells have been thrown from the batteries on the Canadian frontier upon Grand Island, within the teritory of the United States. This was 'particularly the Caic last night, or this morning, when several shots were received, and Mc, or more shells burst upun the island, a:,d in the vicinity of the An'terts can barracks. Our barge has Alia been fired upon, who% h e a r i ns American flag. I write to apprise you of these circumstances ; and, whother they n iv6 • taken pl:ie by accident or design, to remonstrate againg'...the MOW. ne.s in the one case, and the wanton violation of u 94 ,:ional neutrality, in the other. Hoping to ra , nive such an answer ks will prevent the necessity of ant ‘ll 4 : l .`7asant communications to the American authorities, I have tug llrin:ur to be, &c. &c. IRA AVER, Cul. 48 Reg. 47 Brigade, N. y, mc , lion. A. N. M`Nab, Co commanding firer Britannic Majesty's Forces at Chippewa. (Copy.) FROM HON. A. N. M‘NAII, COLONEL COMMANDING AT CIIIP",, E wA. TO COLONEL IRA AYES, GRAND I SLAND. Head Quarters, Chippewa, ' , l r n. 13, 1838. Sir—l have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this day, apprizing me that " for several days p a st 'cannon balls and s h e ll s have been thrown from the batteries on tLie - Canadian frontier upon Grand Island," and that " in one instance 0 1 :a barge has been fired upon. when bearing the American flag." With regard to the cannon b'..113 IX/id shells from our b a tt er i es reac h . ing your frontier, it is quite I, o sSible that this may occasionally havebeen the case ; but I can assttr, you that it is altogether the effect of accident, and that not one shot Or shell has reached your shore by design. You must be aware of the difficulty (from the situation of Navy Island, and the position of our batteries) of keeping our shot and shell always within our territory, but you may rely upon my best endeavours to do so ; end I sincerely trust that no accident has occurmi on Grand Island in con.. sequence Of some of our shot having vccasionally reached it.. With respect to your complaint of our firing upon one of your barges bearing the Ametican flag, I hove only to say, that this is the first time such a report has reached me, and I am quite convinced that, upon in. quiry, you will find it wholly Incorrect. It may possibly be got up as a sort of set-off to the outrage committed by a party of men under your immediate command, and directly under the American flag, by tiring upon Lieutenant I:lnisley, R.N., while peacefully sounding the river ; and I shall be niuch obliged to you to make the communication to your authorities upon this subject, which you mention in your letter, toge ther with a copy of your letter to me, as I desire nothing so much as A full investiganon attic charges you have preferred. 1 ha•ie the honour to be, Sir, your obedient humblo servant, ALLAN N. M`NAB, Colonel Commanding. Colonel Ira Ayer, 48th Regt. 47th Brigade, New York Militia. DESTRUCTION OF THE STEAM-BOAT CAROLINE. FROM UPPER CANADA. The Toronto Patriot of the sth inst. contains the following official ac count of the destruction of the steam-boat Croline, and of the cor respondence between General Arcularius and Colonel 111'Nab. corY OF A LETTER FROM GENERAL AREULARItIe, COMMIssARY.DENERAL OF THE STATE GP NEW YORK, TO THE HON. A. M I NAB. State of New York, Niagara Falls, Jan. 2, 1838. COLONEL ALLEN M'NAB, COMMANDING lIER MAJESTY'S FORCES ON THD NIAGARA FRONTIER. Si a,—Having just arrived in this part of the State of New York, pur. suant to the commands of the Oovcrnor of this State (a copy of which I have the honour herewith to enclose), I would- most respectfully solicit from you the suspension of an attack on the assemblage now lodged on Navy Island, bordering this frontier, until I can demand the surrender of any and all the arms, ordnance, and ordnance stores belonging to this State, of which this assemblage have obtained the clandestine possession ; and permission to withdraw the same if they shall be given up. The application will be mode immediately, and without delay on my part, or the part of those citizens to whom the communication is addressed.— have the honour to be, Sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, HENRY ARCULARIUS. Com'y Gen. Military Stores, State of New York. con of A lIEVLT FROM TIIE 110 N. ALLEN AeNAD TO COMUISSAIIV GENERAL ARCULARIUS. Head-Quarters, Chippewa, Jan. 2,183 g. Sir—l have this moment had the honour to receive your COMITIMIL cation of this (lay, in which you solicit a suspension of an attack on the assemblage now lodged On Navy Island, until you can demand the sur render of any and all the arms, ordnance, and ordnance stores belonging to the people of the State of New York, of which the assemblage have obtained the clandestine possession, with permission to withdraw the same if they shall ue given up, and assuring me that the above-appli cation will be made immediately and without any delay on your part, or on the part of those citizens to whom the comrnun►catiou is addressed. As the above application evinces a noble desire on the part of the State of New York sincerely to co-operate with the Govefiament of her Britannic Majesty in maintaining the laws cf nations against the atro. cious attack of a band of pirates who have equally insulted the Amefi. can as well as the British authorities, by plundering their property, and by openly setting their laws at defiance, I lose no time in assuring you, that haring been directed cordially to co-operate with the authorities as well as with the citizens of the United States in maintaining the treaty which happily exists betweea them and the British empire, and to do every thing in my power to avoid if possible the effusion of human blood, I shall have great pleasure in suspendingmy attack on the pirates on Navy Island, and will cheerfully consent, on the part of her Majesty's Government, that any arms or property they may have stolen from your Government, or from your citizens, may be withdrawn by you from the island, for the purpose of be;ng immediately restored to their rightful owners. Relying upon receiving from you the earliest possible notice of the re, suit of your laudable exertions, mid trusting that the sank goad feeling which has determined your Government to deprive these people of the arms of the United States, which you acknowledge they have clandes tinely possessed themselves of, will induce you to prevent them from re ceiving from your shores any further assistance or supplies.—l have the honour, to remain, Sir, with the highest considebatlon, your obedient humble servant, A. N. M`Nan, Col. Corn. her Majesty's Forces on the Niagara Frontier. To Commissary Gen. H. Arcu!aritts, Esq., &c, COPY OF A LETTER FROM CAPT. DitEW, COMMANDER ROYAL NAVY, TO TILE LION. A. N. M`NAI, COLONEL COMMANDING HER MAJESTY'R FORCER. Head-Quarters, Chippewa, 30th Dec. 1637. Sir,—l have the honour to inform you, that in obedience to your corn. mends to burn, sink or destroy the piratical steam vessel which had been plying between Navy Island and the American shore the whole of terday. I ordered a look-out to be kept upon her, and at about five p.m. of yesterday, when the day had closed in, Mr. Harris, of the Royal Navy, reported the vessel to me as having moved off Navy Island. I imme diately directed five boats to be armed and manned with 4d volunteers, and at about eleven o'clock, p.m., we pushed off from the shore for Navy Island, when not finding her there as expected, we went in search, and found her moored between the Island and the main shore. I then assembled the boats off the point of the island, and dropped quietly down upon the steamer; we were not discovered until within twenty yards of her, when the sentry upon the gangway hailed us, and asked for the countersign, which I told him we would give when we got on board; he then fired upon us, when we immediately boarded, and found from twenty to thirty men upo❑ her decks, who were easily overcome, and in two minutes she was in our possession. As the cur. rent was running strong, and our position close to the Fats of Niagara, I deemed it most prudent to burn the vessel, but previously to setting her on fire we took the precaution to loose her from her moorings, and turn her out into the stream, to prevent the possibility of the destruction of any thing like American property. In short, all those on board the steamer who did not resist were quietly put on shore, as I thought It possible there might be some American citizens on board. Those who assailed us were of course dealt with according to the usages of war. I cannot speak too highly of the conduct of the officers and men who accompanied me; their coolness and bravery show what may, be ex. pected from them when their country requires their services ; where all behaved so well it would be invidious in me to partLularise any one ; but I may be excused for mentioning the gallant conduct of Lieutenant Shepard M'Cormack, of the Royal Navy, who nobly seconded me, and had to encounter several of the pirates in the fore part of the vessel, by which, I regret to say, he has received live desperate wounds; we have also two others wounded, and I regret to add that five or six of the enemy were killed. A return of our wounded I beg to subjoin..--I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, ANDREW DREW, Commander of Royal Navy. P.S. I beg to add that we brought one prisoner away, a British sub ect, in cons:guence of his acknowledging that he had belonged to Duticombe's army, and was on board the steamer to join 111`Kenzie upon Navy Island. ANDREW DREW. Return of the Wounded. Lieutenant S!)e.,,herd M'Cormack, Royal Navy, desperately; CaptaltA \Varren, John Arnold, severely. ANDREW DREW. (From the St. Catherine's Journal.) The following document in MS. has been placed in our haudg, whiett sets the matter in its tale light. GENERAL ORDER. Heal Quarters, Clappewa, Jan. 3, 1838... Colonel M'N:ib has great satisfaction in announcing to the forges um,. der his command, that the destruction of the steam-boat Caroline, in the employment of the pirates on Navy Island, which was effected In a manner so highly creditable to the gal Lint •olunteers from the naval brigade and troops, on the night of the `2oth December, 1897, has mes with the unqualified approbation of his Excellency the Lieutenant- Governor ; and that his Excellency desires t. express to Captain Drew, and to the brave volunteers who accompanied hint, his thanks fin the important service they have rendered to this province, and which hie Excellency will lose no time in making known to her Majesty's Govern tuent.—By Order, &c. BROCK YOUNG, Assistant Brigade Ma}o►. (From the Buffalo Journal.) State of New York, Erie County. Samuel M. Langley, residing in Buffislo, being sworn, deposes and says, that he has just returned to this city from Canada; that while there he was in the village of Qucens.town. That be was in said vil lage on the evening of the 30th of December, 1837 ; that whilst in the barroom of the Queen's Hotel, where he put up, he saw there a num. her of poisons, among whom was a man whom this deponent was In formed was Lieutenant M'ainald or M'Donough, of the militia; also a young and tall man of the name of Allen, as the deponent was In formed. There were several others with the said M'Donald and Allen. The said M'Danald or M'Donough stated in the presence of this deponent, that he was one of the party who crossed from the Canada side to Schlosser, to attack the steam boat Caroline ; that there were in all from 40 to 70 persons in the boats which crossed; that there were four boats in all that crossed ; that the boats were under the command : of three naval officers ; that the enterprise was undertaken to excite the people of the United States to war ; that they were acting under authority ; that before leaving Canada, they knew where the boat lay ; that on their approaching the boat, they were hailed by the sentry un board the boat; that they replied, " Friend ;" that they immediately boarded, and commenced firing upon the persons on board the boat, who were then rushing up from the cabin. The said Id`Dca. rouge, or IVs`Donald, further stated that the names of - the nava l officers who were in command were ♦Varren, Mosier, a n d D rew. On answering to the sentinel that they were friends, they were hied upon by the sentinel from the steam-boat. They immediately tired at and killed bins; that, on ascending the boat, they commenced eta indiscriminate slaughter, giving no quarter. A mall of the name of Arnold attacked a man on board of the steam-boat, who re. listed; the said Arnold received a wound; he then knocked dawn the man, and with his foot held him down, and with his pistol beat the 1110.10 i thee until his teeth wore all beaten out ; that As cold theta